Day 24 14th March

After the week we’ve just experienced, today was a bit of a catch up day.

Now there wasn’t much sitting down on our part, but even Russell the bull took a break from his very important procreative duties today.

We, mean while filled, stirred and sulfured to 60ppm S02 the Schubert barrels to keep them safe and happy through the next 9 months or so. We will continue the weekly filling and lifting of the lees in each barrel to provide that finely creamy texture to what is our trademark Schubert Chardonnay.

It is a lot of expense and work, but you are all welcome

We also racked the refrigerated and clarified Riesling juice away from its settled lees in preparation for the onset of fermentation.

This is a delicate process as we don’t want any of the lees at the bottom of the tank to take part in our ferment unless we invite it to.

The juice clarified quite well under gravity and shows a good depth of flavour and some bright acidity.

I’ll analyse it tomorrow and report back but at this stage it tastes good to me and has outstanding colour so fingers crossed I don’t stuff it up from here on in.

If you look carefully at the photo, you’ll see mm or so of clear juice above the sedimented bits of grape pulp and other unnecessary flocculations. And unnecessary flocculations at my age is something I like to avoid.

In fact, it is such a clean and stable flocculation that it almost qualifies as a deflocculation.

I have had lots of feedback over this vintage journey and most of it has been disturbingly positive.

However, today at the cellar door, Adam and Jessica suggested I have been letting the side down by not including a recipe with each missive.

I gently explained that this a vintage Advent Calendar and as everyone involved in the industry at this time of year knows, food is more feed-lotting than fabulous.

However, as the customer is always right, here is my famous Mud Crab Microwave recipe at warp speed.

1. Catch a couple of Queensland Mud Crabs.

2. Kill them kindly

3. Using a shovel or a Queensland cane knife, cleave them through their meridian and clean

4. Place them in a 1000 w microwave safe pyrex dish, claws to the outside and cook for 7 minutes

5. Make a creamy spicy bisque out of the juices left over in the pyrex dish and serve with a garden salad, some crusty Italian bread and a bottle or two of super chilled Bloodwood Chirac.

Well there are more duties in the winery and more tanks to climb so I’m out of here.

Cheers,

Stephen and Rhonda